La Fenice p.s.

I almost forgot to mention a fabulous exhibit of black and white photos by William Claxton that is also at La Fenice for the next two months. The installation of "Photography is Jazz for the eye" is a great juxtaposition of eras and musical forms. The portraits are from the 50s and 60s and include Charley Parker, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and many, many more. They are exhibited on music stands throughout what are called the Sale Apollinee, a series of five rooms used during "intervals" by the audience members in the first three tiers of boxes.

The Phoenix rises...twice

A busy day yesterday - Gill, unfortunately has a bit of a bug so after a little nursing from the Contessa, he went farmacia shopping. He's a trooper and hasn't really let it slow him down. While he did that, I had an informative and inspiring chat with Severio Pastor, the forcole carver, and his young apprentice. I'm writing a sidebar to my Biennale story for The Honolulu Advertiser about them. Their carving is as much art as anything I've seen in the Biennale exhibitions.

The other highlight of the day was most definitely the audio tour of La Fenice, Venice's storied opera house that has twice survived devastating fires. The name, which means The Phoenix, could not be more appropriate. The 1200-seat main theater is a masterpiece of extremely decorative Rococo style. It also takes the comfort of both performers and audience members into consideration. Constructed mostly of wood including the floor, the acoustics are excellent. The velvet covered seats "on the floor" and in the five tiers of boxes are lovely and quiet and each has an air vent beneath. Not only does it keep the audience member cool in summer and warm in winter, it eliminates the need for large vents that are notoriously noisy and interfere with the music. No photography is allowed inside La Fenice but I've posted a photo of the main entrance to the left.

I'm sorry to report that dinner last night was a major mis-step. Recommended very highly by the agent from whom I rented the apartment, it was a very "local" place but we were served the "tourist" dinner. At least it was fairly inexpensive. Enough said...

Onward to today's adventures. Will take in a few last Biennale installations - hard to believe I've been here almost a full month, have not seen it all and will leave having not seen it all. I think I'll probably be back for another (I hope). I'm very much looking forward to dinner tonight - a third visit to Alle Testiere - and I know Gill is going to love it. And I think we better go back to VizioVirtu for some chocolate today, too.

Ciao.

Last "going" ('til me)

A couple of Biennale installations yesterday - fantastic, big oil paintings in a beautiful church setting is Argentina's entry - "I am Winter Itself." And a "collateral" event - a video installation on three screens, each placed on an altar in a tiny church was absolutely extraordinary. Entitled "Ocean without a Shore," the artist is Bill Viola.

We bid "arrivederci" to Wanda this morning after a divine and very Venetian seafood dinner out on the Zattere fronting the Giudeca Canal last night under a big, full orange Venetian moon - doesn't get much better, I think. The restaurant is called Riviera; the food was delicious, the service excellent, a perfect way to send Wanda off.

It was a quiet morning here at Palazzetto da Schio and this afternoon, Gill and I ventured out by vaporetto to Rialto and wended our way back down to Dorsoduro via San Marco through lots of little streets and alleyways and shops (yes, shops). The photo to the left is one of the wonderfully typical "sights of Venice" we encountered today.

We just finished dinner in the garden - fresh greens, grilled raddichio, pasta with sundried and heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, and basil from the garden. Vino, of course...

My time here is winding down. I have lots of impressions, anecdotes, thoughts to post and I promise to get to all of them as quickly as I can.

Ciao, mi amici...

Last "coming"

A quick word to let everyone know that Gill arrived safe and sound from Amsterdam (via London) at about 7:00 p.m., just in time for dinner in the garden - lovely. We three - Wanda, Gill, and I - have all day and evening tomorrow (lots of food, for sure) - Wanda departs on Sunday. And i cannot believe I have less than a week left. Lots to tell between now and then. Buona notte.

To market, to market...

Yes, I've been here before and now I've been here for more than three weeks and today was the first time I went to Rialto Market to actually shop. Come on, I waited 'til Wanda got here. Gill arrives later today so there was no better excuse to shop for ingredients for a home-cooked dinner, which we three will enjoy in the garden this evening. I will take photos and post them.

The "official" market is a covered pavilion of fishmongers (I've posted a photo from across the canal to the left of this post) and numerous fruit and vegetable stands adjacent. It operates from Tuesday through Saturday from (roughly) 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and it's best, obviously, to get there early. There are also specialty meat, poultry, and cheese shops in close proximity. First, we spocked it all out and then were happy to find that just a few steps away Drogheria Moscari was already open. I'm told there used to be dozens of these kinds of shop in Venice; this is the only one left. They sell hundreds of different wines, spices, nuts, fruit mustards, sauces, jams, a foodie's dream store. We had a ball there and they were very, very nice. I've put a photo of one of their windows down below. At the market, we got all the fixings for a big pupu platter, a big salad, fresh herbs for the pasta and some fruit. Glorious food!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...time to think about prepping dinner.
Ciao.